SA:T – Introduce proper cycle parking

The main cycle parking facility in the area audited is located at the congested junction of Lochrin Place and Home Street, which as noted above already suffers from a number of other permanent and temporary obstacles (Figure 7 above). This cycle parking is well-used which suggests a demand for cycle parking at this juncture, but it should be re-located from the pedestrian desire line.

Cycle parking on pavements is evident at a number of other locations, notably at the guard rails outside the Cuckoo’s Nest (Home Street East) and Omnivore (Home Street West) and on the cycle hoops attached to signage poles. We would like to see more specially designed cycle parking located at points of evident demand, preferably not on the footway at all, but on the carriageway. If our recommendations to remove signage poles and guardrails (see above) are implemented, this will reduce some of the informal cycle parking options currently used and suitable alternative well-planned provision should be made in order to avoid cyclists parking their bikes randomly

Views on the merits of cycle hoops attached to signage poles (as present on the east side of Home Street, Figure 8) were mixed. Ideally, as noted above we would like to see cycle parking provided off the footway entirely. However, cycle hoops do make it more likely that bicycles attached to street furniture remain upright, and parallel to the main pedestrian flow. As such, they may have a place to provide cycle parking where pavements are wide enough and there may otherwise be a risk of cyclists leaving their bikes in a less appropriate place. The pavement is too narrow for cycle hoops to be used at 3, 9 and 18 Home Street and we therefore recommend their removal.